Scotiabank sues Puerto Rico govt seeking loan repayment

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Scotiabank has filed a lawsuit against Puerto Rico's government seeking repayment of a multimillion-dollar loan despite a debt moratorium imposed amid an economic crisis.

The Canada-based bank's Puerto Rico operation argues in a filing Wednesday that the moratorium is unlawful. It says it loaned the island's Metropolitan Bus Authority nearly $38 million in 2012 and accuses the state agency of not making any payments since November 2015.

The lawsuit is the latest of several that the U.S. territory's government faces as it seeks to restructure nearly $70 billion in public debt that the governor has said is unpayable.

A federal judge is expected to decide soon whether Puerto Rico will have to pay its debts despite U.S. legislation enacted this year that protects the island from lawsuits through February 2017.